States Want Insurance Coverage for Cancer Screening.

• Position: Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

Over 8 million people in the United States today have been diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives. The disease chalks up a $107 billion bill every year, according to the National Institutes of Health. Treatment of breast, lung and prostate cancers account for over half of the direct medical costs.

State legislatures have addressed the issue in a variety of ways but mandating coverage of cancer screening has received the most support recently. By the end of August, 48 states and the District of Columbia had passed laws requiring insurers to cover some sort of cancer screening. The cancers most often dealt with in these mandates are breast, cervical and prostate screenings.

However, even though most cancer organizations including the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute recommend regular screening for colorectal cancer, only Illinois and Missouri require it. And so far, no laws have been passed mandating coverage for the screening of other kinds of cancers such as skin cancer.

NEW CANCER CASES, 1999(*) MEN WOMEN Prostate Breast 179,300 175,000 Lung Lung 94,000 77,600 Colorectal Colorectal 62,400 67,000 Urinary and Bladder Uterine 39,100 37,400 Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Ovarian 32,600 25,200 Melanoma (skin) Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma 25,800 24,200 Oral Melanoma (skin) 20,000 18,400 Kidney Urinary and Bladder 17,800 15,100 Leukemia Pancreas 16,800 14,600 Pancreas Thyroid 14,000 13,500 Total for Men Total for Women 623,800 598,000 Note: * Estimated for 1999 from previous data Source: American Cancer Society, Cancer Facts & Figures, 1999. Data not available from Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands. The American Cancer Society...